The Bells of Hell Go Ding a Ling a Ling a :Ling For You But Not For Me is the attitude of the Climate Change creator/deniers who have attacked Iran with no thought of its consequences for the people of Iran nor those parts of the world already facing food insecurity. As many in the world discover the existence of the Straits of Hormuz, the impact of its closure is being felt by farmers especially in the Southern hemisphere of the world. It has shown up the dependence of food crop production on industrial scale fertilisers, especially the nitrogen-based. It is estimated that half a million tons of these is at present not being produced. Farmers already affected by new cycles of flood and drought now face significantly higher costs or at worst non-access to these imputs at crucial times of the year which affect crop yields up to 50%. South Aia where in parts of India farmers are operating in temperatures of 47 degrees Celsius is most affected as are peoples facing rising food prices. Even in the relatively insulated Northern hemisphere food price inflation is expected to reach 10% at the end of this year 2026. The poorest people everywhere in the world will be hardest hit, a higher share of their incomes going on food.
The Ukrainian foreign minister, Andriy Sybiga, formally protested over a shipment to an Israeli port allegedly containing stolen grain farmed on Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. He said it previously informed Israel in April that a Russian shipment received at Haifa contained grain from Ukrainian territory but that another such vessel and shipment has docked at Haifa. Sybiga said: “It is difficult to understand Israel’s lack of appropriate response .”The Israeli Foreign Minister replied that Israel abides by the rule of law with a straight face.
Before the Israeli war began, Gaza’s agricultural sector was known for its abundant production of fruits Despite extensive Israeli restrictions that hindered the sector’s growth — including limits on the entry of agricultural inputs and the export of goods — farmers in Gaza were still able to produce 25 varieties of fruits and vegetables, meeting much of the local market’s needs, exporting part of their produce to Arab and European countries, and providing jobs to nearly 560,000 people. The Israeli war has left 90% of farmland unusable due to bombing, bulldozing, or seizure within the so-called “Yellow Line. Intense bombardment has led to soil contamination with toxic chemicals from explosive remnants. over 1,100 wells and 450,000 linear meters of irrigation networks have also been destroyed, along with approximately 12,500 greenhouses.
A report from Lebanon’s Ministry of the Environment t accuses Israel of “ecocide” during its invasion before last, that of 2023-4. It detailthe destruction of $118m (£87m) of physical agriculture assets, including crops, livestock facilities, forestry resources, fisheries and aquaculture infrastructure.; caused further losses of $586m (£433m) in lost agricultural production as a result of disrupted harvests and reduced yields; destroyed 2,154 hectares (5,320 acres) of orchards, including 814 hectares of olive groves and 637 hectares of citrus plantations, and caused extensive damage to banana plantations.and contaminated soils with phosphorus concentrations up to 1,858 parts a million, with particular contamination hotspots in south Lebanon and the Bekaa valley in the east.